Features:Cheshire Home, Menagesha
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Location: Cheshire Home, Menagesha, Ethiopia
Distance so far: 32,910 km
Dates: 13th to 19th March 2001
GPS Co-ords: 9d04'43"N, 38d35'21"E

The first thing you notice as you arrive at the Cheshire Home is its location. It is around a 35mins drive from Addis Ababa and is set in amongst rolling hills and yes, you've guessed it, 'spectacular scenery'.

View from the grounds of the Cheshire Home.

The site was actually owned by Haille Selassie who had the house built and which he used as his weekend retreat. The Selassie family then gave it to the Cheshire Trust who made it their centre. Neil and I were very privileged to stay in the house during our time at the Cheshire Home.

120 children pass through the Home at Menagesha each year aged between 5 - 15yrs. The main disabilities are caused through polio which took a hold on the country and became very difficult to combat due to poor vaccine coverage. Following the deposition of Haille Selassie in 1974 and up until the new government came into power in 1991, the country was at the mercy of
which ever military dictatorship wielded the power. The result was a virtual economic and political breakdown of the country and polio vaccinations were very difficult to administer throughout the country. This thankfully is now changing and they feel that polio is now on the decrease. Cerebral Palsy is also in evidence but to a lesser degree than polio.

A lot of couples have 9 or 10 children and with the mother also out at work, the children suffer. As mentioned before, schooling is still poor with government schools offering only ½ day schooling. Private schools are fee paying but may still have up to 104 children in a class. Government schools have more. With these problems in the educational infrastructure, you can see how difficult it is for the able bodied in society to achieve even the most basic of educational needs let alone the disabled who have special needs of their own.

The Cheshire Home at Menagesha offers a new service called the 'Community Based Rehabilitation Programme'. This allows specialists to hold a twice monthly clinic at the Russian Red Cross hospital in Addis Ababa and patients and their families come to be diagnosed and accessed and the relevant treatment programme is established. They and their families receive physiotherapy and training in their disability along with the necessary callipers, leg braces etc. Patients come from as far as 800km's away to the clinic, rich and poor alike. Some have maids with them others are badly malnourished. It is non-discriminatory. The extremes are immense and the clinic has opened up new hope to the people. A 15-20mins consultation can and does change their life. A child with severe polio who may otherwise face a life of begging on the streets, is suddenly told that he will walk again and new possibilities are opened up. A follow-up session is always scheduled for a month or so, to ensure that the correct progress is being made. Clinics average 25-30 children and as such they are run on an extremely professional and efficient basis. People are travelling such huge distances to reach the clinics and it is crucial that every patient is seen.

The Home also runs an 'Out Reach Programme' where with the use of an adapted bus, they go out into the community and run mobile clinics. The bus is filled with callipers, crutches, leg braces, shoes, wheel-chairs etc, and people can come and be diagnosed and fitted the same day. It is a truly unique and invaluable service which they provide for the disabled population of Ethiopia. It also helps to re-educate the people in the understanding of disabilities and reaches communities which would otherwise be left devoid of help.

The running of all of these services takes a lot of money, however, they receive no government support for finances. Instead, they must raise the finances themselves and each year they organise a number of charity events, one of which is a sponsored walk, which raises 1/5th of their annual budget. One of the Embassy wives auctioned off 5 pedigree puppies to raise money for the Home and each year some of the dogs participate in the sponsored walk.

They have found that just giving aid/equipment for free creates dependency problems. It is their strong belief that by charging a token fee, that is means tested - as little as 10Birr, which is equivalent to £1 - people are more appreciative of the help and take greater care of the equipment they receive. Otherwise, callipers, crutches, shoes etc are not looked after and people come back expecting replacements.

After being assessed, if surgery is required, the children come to the Home at Menagesha. If they are malnourished, they will be fed and cared for until they are strong enough for surgery and after the operation, they will recuperate at the Home, receiving physiotherapy until they are fit enough to return to their families.

Group photo of some of the children at the Home.

There was a great sense of happiness at the Home and we sat watching some of the boys playing football with legs in plaster, laughing and joking and with some very inventive tackles.

One of the dormitories.

The Home has a comprehensive physiotherapy room for rehabilitation after the operations.

The map in the physiotherapy room pin-pointing the regions being covered by the 'Out-Reach Programme'.

The physiotherapy block.

After being assessed at the clinic in Addis Ababa, it may be decided that an operation is not necessary but the patient may need leg braces for example. They will then visit the Home to be fitted for what ever appliance they need and they will leave with it the same day. All of the appliances are made at the Home in their workshop by skilled people.

An example of the many appliances they make at Menagesha.

One of the patients being fitted.

Some of the patients waiting to be fitted.

A collection of the special shoes made at the Home.

Alongside the leather workshop, there is also a metal workshop where the crutches, leg braces, callipers etc are made.

The skill and workmanship is exceptionally high and they provide the patients with a very fast and efficient service.

As the Home progresses from year to year, one thing they are never certain of is finance and apart from their annual charity event, they rely on the goodwill and generosity of other donators.

A plaque on the physiotherapy block showing donators.

The Home also has a dairy where they produce their own milk and cheese.

Cows grazing on the land at the Home.

Mr Gebremedhin invited us to join him along with Negussa Selassie - Haille Selassie's descendant - and other members of the Cheshire Home management for a traditional supper at the weekend house. He also very kindly invited Mike and Arnd and Pablo and Anna. Unfortunately, Mike had to go to the dentist and missed the supper. We were treated to a superb feast accompanied by the traditional roasting of the coffee beans.

Negussa Selassie to my left and Mr Gebremedhin to his left.

Group photo.

It was a really super evening and we would like to thank Mr Gebremedhin and Negussa Selassie for their generosity throughout our stay at the Home. The Home itself and the work they are doing out in the community are bridging an enormous gap in Ethiopia for the disabled.

Before leaving, we discussed a new income generation project for the Home. An alternative place for overlanders to stay - see special feature.

Sue - enableafrica.net expedition team

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